Thank you for your letter of February 28, 2013, to the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), concerning the restoration of Bayonne, N.J. I appreciate your patience in awaiting this response.

The mission of the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program is to assist communities in recovering from the devastating effects of disasters and emergencies by providing technical assistance and financial grants. The PA Program provides assistance to the state and local governments, Tribal governments, and private nonprofit organizations for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent restoration of infrastructure. Though funded by FEMA, the Public Assistance program is administered by each state. Local governments and other eligible applicants receive their funding through the states.

Project formulation is the process of documenting the damage to a facility, identifying the eligible scope of work, and estimating the costs associated with that scope of work for each of the applicant’s projects. Project formulation allows applicants to administratively consolidate multiple work items into single projects in order to expedite approval and funding, and to facilitate project management. All projects are documented on Project Worksheets (PWs). These PWs contain the information necessary for FEMA to approve the scope of work and itemize cost estimate prior to funding.

FEMA has met as recently as May 13, 2013, with representatives of the city of Bayonne concerning funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery work. To date, FEMA has obligated over $1.5 million to the City for recovery projects that include city-wide emergency protective measures and debris-removal work. FEMA anticipates an additional 12 project work sheets (PWs) will be written to reimburse the City for eligible Hurricane Sandy damages. The PWs for the Bayonne shoreline and public access areas are in formulation, and FEMA anticipates these PWs will be completed by July 1, 2013.